Towed aircraft and means for towing the same



March 2, 1943. QSB LL 2,436,988

TOWED AIRCRAFT AND MEANS FOR TOWING THE SAME F;:Lled Dec. 20, 1944 3/S heet's-Sheet i Maul-12,1948. C.S. BELL 2,436,988

TOWED AIRCRAFT AND MEANS FOR TOWING THE SAME Filed Dec. 20, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet I uvmv rag March 2, 1948. c. s. BELL TOWEL) AIRCRAFT AND MEANS Fox; TOWING THE SAME Filed Dec. 20, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Iuvnrrog B4 was, gm I ,u'rrs Patented Mar. 2, 1948 r UNITED STATES;

PATENT" OFFICE;

'rowED AIRCRAFT AND TOWING 'rnasAMn. i

Charles Stanley Bell,

England y; n r ey e b m Application December 20, 1944, Seria1 lIo. 5 69,03l

' InGreatnBritain April 20, 1943'" i Section 1, Public m 690, August8, 1946 Patent expires April:20; 1963=11 6 Claims.,

have. both lateral andzlcngitud na ,sta i1i In) cases where-thawing loading can be reduced to.

a figurefar below. thattpossible on an aeroplane which requires to carrypay: load lateral-stability is realtively easily achieved. Longitudinal staI-Y J .bility can: be assisted by sodesigning the wings that little or no movement of the centre of Press. sure occurs during flight, and this can be effected; as is known, by malginguse of a symmet-. rical wing section. There; is however a tendency.- for the towed;aircrafla,v wh nnormally designed, to rise, especially at the; gher speeds, and inv man cases to climb above the towing aircraft (which may be calledfthe t lgf) at the maximum: speed. It is an object OfellhejJIGfSEIlt invention to solve the problem of providing for stable flight, of the towed aircraftwhileat. the same time ensuring that it shall keep belowthe levelvof the tug atall speeds of flight,

To this end according to one feature. of the invention arraircraft for tqwingpurposes having wings designed so'that the centrefof pressure moves very little in flight, is characterised by the, fact that two attachment points for al crows-foot connection to a towing cable are provided in front of and above theleading edges ofthe wings and the elevator means is set at little or no tilt so to afford only a very slight I lift at the wings,

Such an aircraft is particularly suitable for a high-speed low-drag target for anti-aircraft g'un practice, although as hereinafter, pointed utit can be utilised also asa bomb carrier. The ef fect of thearrangement is that the, liftrequired for the glider has to be provided by an upward,

pull by, the towing cable. and suchcan only occur when the glider is below the level of the towing. machine. Theemployment of the crows-fcot connection helps lateral stability and, provided, the center of gravity is locatedsomewhatbehind; the centre of pressure, the arrangement isstable longitudinally also; I

The invention further comprises an aircraft: for towing purposes having wings designed so that the centre of pressure moves very. little in; flight, characterised by the iactthat lever mean-s are provided at the front of the aircraft for ate-l, tachment by. crows-foot connection to a towing; cable, the lever meansbeingcapable of move,- ment in accordance with theLvertical angle made by the towing .cable .withtheaircraft and. mean be n .prpevitt d; ,fcr;.;0ne "at vely connec he I elevatgr; means on the aircraft.

Qmes s a owed l a ethe efmm. comprises two levers ivoted I about. an aXis Lev neuer" ta 'QQWWQ cable cription'by way of ex- 1 I elinvention, referae empae drawings.

30; ure e edieeamster in awe: a a

iis ra se-s on eithe Same; as .F i ree-i sat eek I io z d.

' i re e sen r c efire iew f h m Referring to ',l igures. 1 to ,3, the aircraft comprises a fuselage lv;l, wing s', l2; I3',".tai1 planes lit, 13, 3na-reof syin .11 1 m the centre-' lift-.1. hetail planes L4, I 53 v i h ly pwarda id. el mdu Very slightfliit in, the planes lg, I 3; he, ,front end: arriesa'n upstand ng fin ll ether some distance Ft lChBd, to a tow.-

le. to confi m craft, whether it. net; a dl nctwithstandin the f thelaircraftrnay be varied ne to. h ri ht-c t centre.

nstructions of towed.

of; a; modified construction] t' llyperated elevators;

of affurther construe- I I I .seta 'a xs e t I 3i ,whighis'notvisibleinthedrawing and the efore. endt rut the nOse of the machine ma aise. To the I? ecuredtwo cables I211 thus form a,;

3. crows-foot connection to the towing cable. The height of the connection above the centre-line of the fuselage can be varied and the fin I1 is provided with a number of different fixing holes 23 for this purpose.

The centre of gravity of the machine can be varied by moving fore or aft 3. weight 24 carried in the fuselage. wing I3 is located upon the line 25, Figure 2, at about one-third of the width of the wing 13 from the leading edge and the centre of gravity is located at 26 on the vertical line .21 a little behind the line 25 which passes through the centre of pressure. The weight 24 is adjusted to secure his.

It is important that in flight the line of Pull. of

the towing cable should pass through the centre of gravity 26, as is indicated by the chain-line .28..

The centre of pressure of the Twill always fly at a specific difference of height from the tug, which will be known to the pilot of the tug, and therefore the height at which the aircraft ll will strike the object 31 can be precisely predicted and high accuracy bombing of vertical faces of targets becomes practicable. Marine targets such as naval vessels are also This line of pull will be determined by the resultant of the force needed to draw the aircraft forward through the air at the speed of the tug plane and the force needed to sustain the weight of the towed aircraft, because, as already explained, the planes l3 have so little lift that practically the whole of the lifting effort must come from the vertical component of the force on the towing cable. The height of the cross bar and the position of the weight 24 are adjusted to secure these conditions at towing speed and it will be evident that the condition is stable both laterally and longitudinally. The lateral stability is secured in the main owing to the crows-foot connection 2| which resists any tendency of either wing to dip. As to longitudinal stability the location of the towing cable in front of the wings permits the line of pull of the cable to pass through the centre of gravity of the machine and close to the centre of pressure. In the event of any increase of towing speed the pressure, being slightly in advance of the centre of gravity, will tend to put the nose of the machine up a little and thus to cause the line of pull of the towing cable to move to the rear of the centre of gravity which will tend to restore the balance. Similarly in the event of a reduction of speed the line of pull of the towing cable will become more steeply inclined and will tend to pull the nose up. As a result the machine flies at a steady level well below the level of the tug.

Two small tabs 29, 30 are secured to the rear edges of the tail planes l4, l5 and may be set before flight by bending as may be found necessary to adjust the trim of the towed aircraft. A wooden skid 3| is secured to the underside of the fuselage and has a free portion 32 extending rearwardly beneath the belly of the fuselage, this portion being long enough to be springy and being connected to the body of the fuselage by a rubber buffer or other spring 33. A tail skid 34 of flat springy metal is also provided.

This aircraft has been found to provide a stable and realistic target for anti-aircraft practice,

It may also be adapted for other uses. It ceases to be stable if detached from the towing cable but is capable, owing to the lift provided by the towing cable, of carrying a substantial load if desired and one use to which it may be put is indicated in Figure 6 of the drawing which also shows the general character of the towing arrangements. In Figure 6 the tug is indicated at 35 connected by a towing cable 36 to the crowsfoot connection 22 and thus to the machine I I. It will be observed that the effect of wind resistance on the towing cable is to cause the cable to bow upwardly during flight and that a vulnerable to this form of attack. It is necessary to provide for the detachment of the towing cable 36 at the moment of impact so as to avoid shock to the tug and this can be arranged either by making a connection to the tug which will break under'a force somewhat greater than the towing force or by means of a breakable connection at some other point in the cable. The length of the cable 36 may be any desired, as much as a mile or two miles, in which case the difference of height between the tug and the towed aircraft is very great. The absence of any substantial lift from the wings l2, l3, conducesto the reduction of the force required in a horizontal direction for its travel and therefore the aircraft reduces the speed of the tug, as compared with its speed when free, only very slightly.

As an alternative to the method of fixing the cross-bar 18 shown in Figures 1 to 3 the fuselage I I may carry horns 38, 39 on which the cross-bar is secured as shown in Figures 4' and 5, or the horns may be secured to the front edges of the wings or any other fixing for the crows-foot connection may be provided.

It will be appreciated that as the machine H already described affords very little lift at flying speed, immediately it is'detached from the tow rope 35 it will dive and therefore although it will act as a stable target while being towed or can carry weight in circumstances parallel to those described in connection with Figure 6, it cannot be caused to be detached from the tug 35 and enabled to land smoothly. Moreover for carrying substantial loads it may be desirable that the wings of the machine should be so shaped as to afford a substantial lift'in which case in order to secure stability while being towed further control is necessary; in both the conditions contemplated it is desirable that there should be automatically controlled elevator means on the towed aircraft and Figures 7 and 8 show a construction. in which this is efiected. The particular construction illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 is of a taille'ss glider but the principles employed could be adapted to a glider having a long fuselage and a tail, if desired.

In Figures 7 and 8 the glider comprises a body 40 to which are secured wings Al, 42. The wings are back-swept and preferably set at a slight dihedral angle although this cannot be seen from the figures. They are also'given a greater incidence near the body 40 than near the wing tips and they carry at their outerends vertical fins 43, 44 which help to guide the glider in a straight course behind the towing rope 35. This type of aeroplane, without a tail and with rearwardlyswept wings the incidence of which washes out towards the tips, is known per se and. affords a type of plane which is' capable of stable flight. Near the tip of each wing is an elevator or aileron, 45 on the wing and 46, on the wing 42. Each aileron is hinged to its wing and provided with a teseesa 55; downwardly depending-le ,e3ylecated within the wing thickness, which lever is connected by a pushrod 4'l toa lever arm onarock shaft' 48. The rock shafts 48 are therefore able to work the elevators; Near the body; L-teachrock shaft carries a lever 49 on the wing 4l and 50 on the wing 42;. Each lever consists of two ar'ms',;-an-

upwardly extending arm- (Figure 8) and a downwardly extending arm 522 Ijhe arms; 51 52 on the; wing 42 are'connected by a crows-foot connectionjti 54to--ananchoring-point on the towing'cable '36andt-he corresponding arms on the lever 49 of the other wing are connected by a crows-fopt connection 55, 56 t0 .the same anchoringpointpn the towingcable. The effect is that ifthenose of the"glider'tends tog rise the rock shaftsifli121.15g movedin' such a direction thatjthey turn the elevators"45:"4-6- downward and correct the tendency while if the nose tends to dip the elevators are lifted and the nose is put up again. Moreover in addition to the lateral stabilising effect of the crows-foot connection to the right and left side of the machine already explained in connection with Figures 1 to 3, there is a further stabilising effect in that if one wing goes up and the other down the elevator on the up side is depressed and that on the down side is lifted.

Preferably the elevators 45, 46 are given a bias, for example by means of springs within the wing spaces, so that in the event of the towing cable 39 being cut or detached the elevators will move upwardly and put the nose of the machine upward thus affording suflicient additional lift to prevent it diving on detachment of the cable. In this way the load can be flown to a destination, the towing cable detached by the pilot in the tug and the glider will glide of itself to land while the tug fiies on. It is even possible to have a train of such gliders behind the tug, each suspended by a towing cable from the one in front of it (and the foremost from the tug) and to arrange for these to be detached one after another beginning with the lowermost. Thus, for example, loads of postal mail for various destinations may he slipped one at a time when over their destination while the tug flies on with the remaining load to other destinations and an air mail delivery to a number of different centres, which may not provide landing fields adequate for an aircraft or may not be of sufficient importance to demand an aircraft to themselves, may readily be afiorded by a number of relatively small gliders according to the present invention.

Figures 9 and liishow another alternative construction intended to afford additional lateral stability in gusty weather or other difiicult conditions. In this case the fuselage 55 is not rigidly connected to the wings 56, 51 but the wings are pivoted to brackets 58 on the upper side of the fuselage about an axis extending parallel to the centre line of the fuselage. As before there is a towing cable 36 connected by a crows-foot 2|, 22 to a cross-bar l8 secured to the fuselage and there are tail planes l4, l5 and a fin 16 at the back of the fuselage. Each of the wings carries at its tip a stabilising plane 59 or 60 and the stabilising plane is capable of rotation about the axis of a rock shaft extending along the interior of the wing. The rock shaft in the wing 56 is numbered 6| in the drawing and the rock shaft in the wing 51 is numbered 62. The rock shaft 6| carries a downwardlly depending arm 63 which enters a cam slot 64 carried by the fuselage and the rock shaft 62 has a similar downwardly depending arm 65 entering a cam slot 66. In the event of an up gustgsiuh 'asi'is indicated by the arrow 6.1:, Figure.- 9; tending to.tilt.t-h,e wing 5liupwardly. and? the: Wing 56- downwardly' the arms 63;- will-moirealong the cam slots. 6.4.; 6.6: and' Will rotate the stabilizing planes 59, 60 in opposite directions: In the case supposed theplane. 6.0; will. be turned upwardly at the back so as to;ten.d-; to drivethe' wing 51: downwards asshown. in Figure 9 andthe plane 59 will, beturned downwardlyat the back; so -asto give additional lift tothe wing on'thatside. The reverse action takes place if; the wingonthe other side of the machine. is lifted.

. Althou h this device for lateral. stabilisation hasbeen illustrated in connection with. a, plane;- having: a: simple crows-foot connection; to. the

towingcable such as is shown iml 'igures Lto 3*, it:

will, beappreciatcdi that it. couldalsobe appliedz on a glider such as is shown.inrEigurest'lzandg 8. in whichthe towing cable hasioperative connections to elevators for altering the trim in a fore and aft direction of the glider.

I claim:

1. An aircraft for towing comprising wings of substantially symmetrical surface about the planes in which the front and rear edges of the wings lie, elevator means set at such an angle of incidence as to trim the main planes to an angle of incidence where their lift is less than the weight of the glider and means in front of and above the leading edges of the wings for attachment of crows-foot connections for a towing cable, the said means being located symmetrically on opposite sides of the vertical central plane of the machine.

.2. An aircraft for towing comprising wings of substantially symmetrical surface about the planes in which the front and rear edges of the wings lie, elevator means set at such an angle of incidence as to trim the main planes to an angle of incidence where their lift is less than the weight of the glider, levers on each wing symmetrically located relatively to the centre line of the machine and extending in an up and down direction, means connecting the levers with the elevator means and four crows-foot connections, two from the ends of each lever to a towing cable.

3. An aircraft for towing comprising wings of substantially symmetrical surface about the planes in which the front and rear edges of the wings lie, elevator means set at such an angle of incidence as to trim the main planes to an angle of incidence where their lift is less than the weight of the glider, an upstanding attachment in front of and above the leading edges of the wings extending on both sides of the vertical central plane of the machine to points of attachment for crowsfoot connections from a towing cable, the points of attachment being such that the line of pull of the cable passes through the centre of gravity of the machine, the weight of the parts being so distributed that the centre of gravity lies slightly behind the centre of pressure on the wings.

4. An aircraft as claimed in claim wherein the means for attachment of crowsfoot connections is coupled to said connections and thereby to a towing cable and wherein the towing cable is provided with means for ready detachment from the towing means.

5. An aircraft for towing purposes of the tailless type, the wings being of substantially symmetrical surface about planes passing through the front and rear edges of the wings, wing elevators thereon, lever means on each wing symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the vertical central plane of the machine, said lever means projecting upwardly and downwardly from the wing, connections from said lever means to the wing elevators and crows-foot connections from the ends of each lever to a single towing cable. i a

6. An aircraft for towing comprising a fusela wings thereon each of which is of sym-' metrical surface above-and below a plane in which the front and rear edges of the wing lie, iixed' tail elevators and fin on the fuselage the tail elevators being set at such an angle of incidence as to trim the main planes to an angle of incidence where their lift is less than the weight of the glider and a towingattachment on the front of the fuselage comprising an upstanding member with transverse extensions to afford two symmetrical towing points above and in front of the leading edges of the wings.

CHARLES STANLEY BELL.

8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,185,538 Rabick May 30, 1916 1,218,586 Steinmets Mar. 6, 1917 1,729,354 Mounce Sept. 24, 1929 1,802,283 Simmonds Mar. 2, 1931 1,935,672 Settle Nov. 21, 1933 I FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 112,673 Great 'Britain June 22, 1918 552,749 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1943 France Mar. 2, 1936 

